Decline in shark population worldwide

Sharks are in big trouble on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and worldwide, according to scientists who claim to have developed the world's first way to measure rates of decline in shark population.

"There is mounting evidence of widespread, substantial, and ongoing declines in the abundance of shark populations worldwide, coincident with marked rises in global shark catches in the last half-century," said lead scientist Mizue Hisano at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.

He added: "Overfishing of sharks is now recognised as a major global conservation concern, with increasing numbers of shark species added to the International Union for the Conservation of nature's list of threatened species.

"First, many countries with coral reefs don't keep reliable records of catches or fishing effort. Second, around 75 per cent of the world shark catch consists of illegal and unreported finning. Third, sharks may be caught, discarded, and not reported when fishers are targeting other species."

The scientists have developed several alternative models, which combined birth rates and growth rates for sharks with a variety of different methods for estimating mortality.

They then used state-of-the-art statistical methods to combine the uncertainty associated with each of these methods and arrive at a more robust long-term population prediction for two GBR shark species -- the grey reef shark and the whitetip reef shark.

As a further check on their results, the scientists used their population projections to see how well their models could explain differences in shark abundances on fished and unfished reefs, based on how long the unfished reefs had been protected.

The team found that results obtained by all methods of assessing shark population were in close agreement that sharks are declining rapidly due to fishing.

"Our different approaches all painted a surprisingly consistent picture of the current state of population decline, but also of the potential recovery of these species if they are adequately protected.

"More broadly, we believe that our study demonstrates that this approach may be applied to a broad range of exploited species for which direct estimates of mortality are ambiguous or lacking, leading to improved estimates of population growth," Hisano said.

Water before meals aids weight loss

Have you tried out every trick in the book to lose weight - crash diets, gyms, or simply starving yourself?

Now, try a simple trick - drink a glass or two of water before meals, as that's the best way to curb appetite and shed those pounds - says a new research.

Scientists have reported that just two 8-ounce glasses of water taken before meals, can lead to weight loss.

"In this recent study, we found that over the course of 12 weeks, dieters who drank water before meals, three times per day, lost about 5 pounds more than dieters who did not increase their water intake," said Brenda Davy of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.

The simple reason is that it fills up the stomach with a substance that has zero calories. People feel fuller as a result, and eat less calorie-containing food during the meal.

And it gets even better if you replace sweetened calorie-containing beverages with it.

Although there's no exact amount of water one should drink, experts advise that most healthy people can simply let thirst be their guide.

The general recommendations for women are about 9 cups of fluids - from all beverages including water - each day, and men at about 13 cups of fluids.

Gold down Rs 75 to Rs 26,940 on weak global cues

Gold prices declined by Rs 75 to Rs 26,940 per 10 grams in the national capital on Wednesday due to sluggish demand at prevailing higher levels amid a weak trend in the Asian region.

However, silver rose further by Rs 200 to Rs 55,200 per kg on better offtake by industrial units at lower levels, after a steep fall earlier this week.

Trading sentiment turned bearish after gold declined in the Asian region, as investors sold the metal for cash to pay losses as commodities, including oil and copper fell on concerns that European leaders may fail to contain the region's debt crisis.

Gold in Asian markets, which normally sets the price trend on the domestic front, dropped by 1.1% to USD 1,632.05 an ounce in Singapore.

Besides, sluggish demand at prevailing higher levels also influenced the gold prices.

On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5% purity declined by Rs 75 each to Rs 26,940 and Rs 26,800 per 10 grams, respectively. The metal had gained Rs 275 yesterday.

However, sovereigns found some local buying, following beginning of 'Navratra' festival and rose by Rs 400 to Rs 21,600 per piece of eight grams.

On the other hand, silver ready rose further by Rs 200 to Rs 55,200 per kg, while weekly-based delivery met with resistance and lost Rs 345 to Rs 53,700 per kg.

Silver coins moved up by Rs 1,000 to Rs 62,000 for buying and Rs 63,000 for selling of 100 pieces on account of festive demand.

CSK vs CC: Cape Cobras three down as Bravo s

Cape Cobras lost their third wicket when Dwayne Bravo clean bowled Dane Vilas in their Champions League Twenty20 clash at MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Wednesday.

Cobras got off to a bad start losing both their openers inside five overs.

Herschelle Gibbs hit 3 fours in his 14-ball 18 before Doug Bollinger had him caught by Michael Hussey at mid-on.

R Ashwin gave Chennai the first breakthrough when he trapped Richard Levi plumb in front of the wicket on his first ball of the match.

This was after captain Justin Kemp won the toss and chose to bat.

CSK's hopes of advancing to the semifinals hangs in balance after the defending champions failed to restrict a depleted Mumbai Indians in their opening match last week.

Cape Cobras are buoyed after the win over New South Wales Blues, and will be keen to extend their supremacy in group A with yet another victory.

The South African champions, though, were not really tested in their opening encounter, as they eased past the Australians with seven wickets in hand.

The side will rely heavily on the exploits of speedster Dale Steyn besides pinning hopes on the likes of Herschelle Gibbs and Richard Levi to come good.

Dhoni's men will look up to Michael Hussey, who was in brilliant nick during his knock of 81 against MI, and a lot will also depend on Suresh Raina and the skipper.

Murali Vijay, who was at loss against Lasith Malinga the other night, too, will look to rediscover his touch.

If the hosts wilt under pressure again, it will be the end of the road for them, and the dream to win a unique CLT20 double will remain just a dream.

Blackberry launches new Curve in India

Research In Motion (RIM) on Tuesday launched the next-generation BlackBerry Curve smartphone in India.

Curve 9360, sporting the QWERTY keyboard for which BlackBerry phones are well-known, runs on BlackBerry 7 operating software. It has a 2.4 inch screen with a resolution of 480 x 360 pixels. However, unlike Bold 9900, the phone's screen doesn't support touch input.

The company hopes that the revamped OS, which features a faster browser and better graphics, will help it take on iPhone and Android devices. RIM said that the new Curve will be available in the market at a price of Rs 19,990.

Curve 9360 comes with an optical trackpad, a 5MP camera and support for up to 32GB micro SD card. The phone also supports NFC (near field communication) technology though currently there is lack of accessories and services that can make use of it.

"Curve series has been extremely popular in India and we are excited to launch Curve 9360. It features a new design along with a performance upgrade and better mobile social experience. It provides an ideal upgrade path for our existing Curve customers as well as the millions of feature phone users in the Indian market," said Frenny Bawa managing director for India at RIM.

According to a study done by Voice&Data few months ago, RIM had a market share of 5.9% in FY 2010-11 after registering over 60% annual growth in revenue in India compared to FY 2009-10. But this year the company has faced strong competition from full touchscreen Android phones that offer better multimedia and web browsing at a cheaper price.

Akshay Kumar's apology call to Abhishek Bachchan

It seems that everyone is taking on the responsibility to apologise for Russell Peters' potshots at Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's acting abilities.

On September 26, 2011 Mumbai Mirror reported that Speedy Singhs co-producer, Ajay Virmani, took it upon himself to do some damage control. And now we hear that Akshay Kumar called Abhishek to apologise for the same.

A source revealed, "Akshay said 'Sorry' to Abhishek. He respects Aishwarya and the Bachchan family a lot. He is naturally very embarrassed about Russell's remarks."

Apparently, Kumar, who made the call last weekend, took Abhishek by surprise. "It was definitely not Akshay's fault. It was a very kind gesture on Akshay's part. Abhishek told him to take it easy. After the call, Akshay felt a lot lighter," added the source.

When previously contacted, Virmani told Mumbai Mirror, "I have no control over what Russell says. What he says is not reflective of our opinion or what the film is all about. Aishwarya is a fantastic actress and a legend.

I apologise for his comments." Despite repeated attempts, both Akshay and Abhishek, remained unavailable for comment.

10 Tips for a healthy heart

A strong heart is a result of healthy lifestyle choices. Be active and stress-free

 Today's fast-paced life and workplace pressures escalate stress levels, taking a toll on one's heart. We must realise that the healing power of the body decreases when under stress, leading to many complications like hypertension and poor immunity. Today, even youngsters are prone to heart ailments. So, it's very important to stay healthy and manage your stress levels by understanding the risk factors - high cholesterol levels, stressful lifestyle, smoking, and lack of exercise - following simple changes in lifestyle.

Avoid smoking

Smoking reduces life expectancy by 15-25 years. If you are a smoker, you are twice more likely to have a heart attack than a non-smoker. The moment you stop smoking, the risk of heart attack begins to reduce.

 Cut down on salt

Too much salt can cause high blood pressure, which increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease.

Watch your diet

Try to have a balanced diet. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables, starch foods such as wholegrain bread and rice.

Monitor your alcohol

Too much alcohol can damage the heart muscle, increase blood pressure and also lead to weight gain. Avoid intake of alcohol or at least limit it to one to two units a day, gradually decreasing the consumption.

 Get active

At least aim for 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day. Keeping yourself fit not only benefits the heart but also improves mental health and well-being.

Monitor your BP, blood sugar and cholesterol levels

Routine medical check-ups will ring an alarm, if you need medical help.

 Manage your waist

Cholesterol deposition in blood vessels begins in the first decade of life. Carrying a lot of extra weight as fat can greatly affect your health. Make small but healthy changes in your diet.
  
Manage your stress level

If you find things are getting on top of you, you may fail to eat properly, smoke and drink too much. This may increase your risk of a heart attack. Practice yoga/meditation. Take a vacation.

 Check your family history

If a close relative is at risk of developing coronary heart disease from smoking, high BP, high cholesterol, lack of physical activity, obesity and diabetes, then you could be at risk too.

Laughter is the best therapy

Laughter anytime will work wonders for you. It is an instant way to unleash the pressure and it makes you feel light.

Facebook Charging fees : Hoax

A new version of an old hoax is spreading on Facebook, trying to warn users that the company will soon start charging you to use the service. It’s bogus, of course.

Facebook users are warning each other that the social network will soon start charging its users due to the upcoming profile changes. While these people likely have good intentions, the truth is that this is a hoax and Facebook will never ask you to pay to use its service.

The “advice” comes in the form of the following message:

IT IS OFFICIAL. IT WAS EVEN ON THE NEWS. FACEBOOK WILL START CHARGING. DUE TO THE PROFILE CHANGES. IF YOU COPY THIS ON YOUR WALL YOUR ICON WILL TURN BLUE AND FACEBOOK WILL BE FREE FOR YOU. PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON, IF NOT YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED IF YOU DO NOT PAY
The hoax, which is spreading like wildfire on Facebook, is not the first of its kind. Many scams have claimed Facebook will ask you to pay in one form or another, but they’re all bogus. The company even tries to remind its users on the website’s main login page (if you’re logged in, you’ll have to log out to see it): “It’s free and always will be.”

Facebook makes a lot of money from the ads viewed and clicked by its 800 million active users. In fact, the social networking giant is expected to make $4.27 billion in revenue this year, 89 percent of which will come from advertising.

As a general word of caution, don’t believe everything you read on the Internet. Also, don’t blindly copy and paste warnings just because your Facebook friend’s status tells you to do so. Although you probably mean well, you could be helping a hoax become more popular on the social network.

Take tea without milk for weight loss

Beware, especially if you want to lose weight - don't add milk to tea, or you would pile on the pounds.

Scientists have discovered that tea contains high levels of compounds that help reduce the amount of fat but proteins found in cows' milk neutralise this fat-fighting ability.

New research has shown that the compounds, called theaflavins and thearubigins, prevent obesity when given to rats that were also on a high-fat diet.

Researchers now believe this could explain why people in Britain appear not to benefit from the healthy affects of tea despite being among the world's biggest consumers of the beverage, the Telegraph reports.

Devajit Borthakur, a scientist at the Tea Research Association at Jorhat in the Indian state of Assam, said: "When tea is taken with milk, theaflavins and thearubigins form complexes with the milk protein, which causes them to precipitate."

"It means that we don't get the health benefit from these compounds nor from milk protein. Therefore, it is always advised to take tea without milk."

A study by scientists in Japan, reveals that extracts from tea leaves inhibit the absorption of fat in the guts of rats being fed high-fat diet.

These rats also had less fat tissue on their bodies and lower fat content in their livers, reports the Journal of Nutrition.

Hiroaki Yajima, a scientist with the Kirin Beverage Company in Japan who carried out the Japanese research, said: "Black tea extracts may prevent diet-induced obesity by inhibiting intestinal lipid absorption."

Samsung to launch Microsoft Mango phone in October

SEOUL: Samsung Electronics, the world's second-biggest handset maker, said that it will release its first smartphone based on the latest version of Microsoft Corp's mobile operating system starting in Italy from the end of October.

Samsung, the top seller of Google's Android phones, has adopted a multiplatform strategy, rolling out smartphones also running on Microsoft's software and its own proprietary "bada" software.

Samsung said in a statement that its Omnia W, which runs the latest release of Windows Phone, code-named Mango, features a 3.7-inch AM-OLED display and a 1.4 GHz processor. It will be gradually rolled to globally including Europe, CIS, Latin America, Africa, South East and South West Asia.

A Samsung spokeswoman said the date for a US rollout has not been decided yet.

Microsoft launched an update of its Windows phone software in May, hoping a host of new features will help it close the gap on smartphone leaders Google Inc and Apple Inc

Meanwhile, Samsung said on Sunday that sales of its Android smartphone Galaxy S 2 had topped 10 million units in five months, making it the company's fastest-selling phone.

Samsung also unveiled two LTE versions of its Galaxy S 2 smartphones in South Korea on Monday, seeking to keep alive its smartphone momentum and to step up challenge against Apple's iPhone.

Smartphone sales are one of few bright spots in the businesses of Samsung, which also leads global sales of memory chips, flat-panel screens and TVs.

Solid smartphone sales are expected to lead to higher-than-expected earnings for Samsung during the July to September period, analysts said.

Paris Hilton gives $100 to Indian beggar

Hotel heiress and international celebrity Paris Hilton, who is in India on a three-day business trip, showed her humanitarian side when she tipped a beggar $100.

"Yesterday (Sunday) when Paris was travelling to launch her bag store, a woman with a baby was begging near her car; she was so moved that she gave her a $100 note," a source told IANS. Paris arrived in India Saturday to launch her new line of bags and her stores in collaboration with Brand Concepts Pvt. Ltd.

Abhishek injured again, fractures finger

Actor Abhishek Bachchan, who received six stitches above his right eye earlier this month after an accident on a movie set, has now injured his left finger - during shooting for the same film. "...I fractured my finger. It's what I would like to call a sympathy wound," Abhishek posted on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Last time he got injured on the sets of " Bol Bachchan" in Jaipur and this time it happened when the 35-year-old was returning to his hotel room after shooting for the Rohit Shetty film. Abhishek's father, megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who suffered a hairline rib fracture on the sets of "Department", tweeted: "My hairline fracture on rib has a companion - Mr Abhishek Bachchan.

He has had a hairline fracture on his finger on shoot in Jaipur for 'Bol Bachchan'." "Was on his way to the hotel after pack up and the crew playing cricket hit a ball in his direction, which he tried to prevent from hitting his face and damaged his finger. Its got a fracture and he is in a splint and bandage, but operational !!" further added the 68-year-old.

Things to never do on Facebook

There is a set of guidelines to follow in a relationship, and then there is another set to be followed when exposing your personal life on a social-networking site. A breach of these could result in the shocking tragedy of Malini Murmu, the 23-year-old IIM student who committed suicide after reading her former boyfriend's tactless status update: "Feeling super cool today. Dumped my new ex-girlfriend. Happy Independence Day."

The onus of Malini's actions does not rest solely on her ex-boyfriend's keyboard happiness; there is more to the matter than meets the eye. However, this is an immense cause of concern about the far-reaching effects social-networking sites can have on people's lives. Especially since people tend to have more 'courageous' online personalities than offline ones.

Clinical psychologist Alina Philip says, "Much like the media, social networking sites reach everybody. Therefore, we need to follow ethics and be extremely sensitive to what goes up on them. "

Admit it
As much as social networks allow us to stay connected with people across the demographics, they are partly superficial.

And we get to be pretentious. Most status updates and pictures are to show how witty you are, how much fun and interesting your life is, how deep you are - basically a concentrated effort to dictate a perception of the unique snowflake that is you.

While there is nothing wrong in this, tread carefully when relationships with others are involved. Making and maintaining relationships need effort, time and direct communication - and all of it invested offline.

Clinical psychologist and psychotherapist Varkha Chulani, says, "There's a fine line between sharing of information and emotional exhibition." "Love you darling. Muah", "Thanks for last night", "We need to talk" and "I think your sister is fat" does not need to make it on the Wall. These conversations are best had person to person. And if this is not the kind of thing you would say to his/her face, it makes it all the more cowardly to say it online.

Like Philip says, "Would you go to the middle of Azad Maidan screaming that you have broken up? Then why publicise on Facebook? Your personal space is your personal space. Respect it. Do not make a mockery out of it. Maintain the sanity of your relationship."

This extends to changes in relationship messages. From Single to Taken to It's complicated, it's less of sharing of good news and more of hungering for attention. Wouldn't it be wiser to decide on the status of your relationship after you've finished fighting and decided mutually on it?

Also announcing the cementing of your relationship through status change can be awkward if you have not had 'the talk' offline first. Otherwise ABC is happily 'in a relationship' with XYZ, but XYZ hasn't really changed her status from Single.

Be a suit
Taking office gossip and team rivalry online will not reflect well on your resume. Even here, it is better if you solve your problems face-to-face rather than resort to vague sarcastic comments on their status messages and photos.

And no matter how bad your day has been, don't bitch about a client or boss on your blog and Twitter. You may have a friend who knows a friend, who knows the boss. Besides, your future employers could be online and they will think twice about hiring a person with no discretion.

Keep it positive
A rule of thumb is to announce only the positive - a new job, a celebration or new degree. Steer clear of washing dirty linen in public. Do not talk about your bad day at work or your unpleasant marriage. Remember: 500 friends of friends do not need to know.

Pictures have ceased to be snapshots for posterity and grown into frames of exhibitionism. And here you need to be more careful. What seemed funny when you were drunk and in college, will not be as ticklish when you land a job, or when you wake up sober. When the pictures are of somebody else, the responsibility is greater.

You do not know what could land a friend or colleague into trouble and it is best to avoid uploading any picture or video that brings even a shadow of doubt. Happy smiling family pictures may be boring, but they are less likely to land you in a lawsuit.

Pictures of you with your arm around a bikini-clad babe, or shirtless dude after a break-up point less to you being cool and more to you being lame. "This reflects that you are providing solace to yourself that you have a good life, while revealing emotional instability," says Chulani.

Eat less, don't exercise, shed flab

Those wishing to shed some pounds should simply eat less rather than doing exercise, a leading surgeon has claimed.

Lord McColl of Dulwich also criticized the UK government's focus on promoting exercise as the key to tackling the obesity epidemic.

His comments came despite the scientifically proven fact that regular exercise results in a lower risk of many chronic diseases - including heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

And his view also flies in the face of research that shows it can also boost self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and energy - as well as reduce risk of stress, depression, dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

"We are in the middle of the most serious epidemic to have hit this country for 100 years - the obesity epidemic. The cure is free - you just have to eat less," the Daily Mail quoted him as saying.

Sachin scared of me, says Shoaib Akhtar in his biography

Pakistan cricket's enfant terrible Shoaib Akhtar has stirred yet another controversy, this time questioning the class and temperament of India's batting stalwarts Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

In his just-published biography " Controversially Yours", the temperamental Pakistan speedster has accused Tendulkar of being scared to face his scorching pace on a slow Faisalabad track.

He also claimed that Tendulkar and Dravid were not match-winners nor did they know the art of finishing games.

"....Vivian Richards, Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara and the likes of them are great batsmen who dominated with the bat and were truly match-winners. Initially, when I bowled against Sachin, I found these qualities missing. He might have had more runs and records, he lacked the ability to finish the game," he said in the book, to be formally launched on Friday.

Akhtar, who announced his retirement during the World Cup this year, also cited an example where he felt that Sachin was mighty scared to face him.

"We would have faced a humbling defeat in the series but for the fact that we reined in Sachin Tendulkar.

"What went in our favour was that Sachin was suffering from tennis elbow! This severely handicapped the great batsman. We managed to psychologically browbeat him.

"We bounced the ball at him and were able to unnerve him. I returned to the dressing room that first day with the knowledge that Sachin was not comfortable facing fast and rising ball. He was distinctly uncomfortable against me. That was enough to build on", he said.

"I bowled (Sachin) a particularly fast ball which he, to my amazement didn't even touch. He walked away! That was the first time, I saw him walk away from me-- that, too, on the slow track at Faisalabad. It got my hunting instincts up and in the next match I hit him on the head and he couldn't score after that", Akhtar wrote.

The 36-year-old Akhtar, who had scalped 178 wickets in 46 Test and 247 I wickets in 163 ODIs, said that Tendulkar and Dravid who have together conjured over 56,000 international runs (over 33,000 by Tendulkar and over 23,000 by Dravid) are not "match winners".

"I think players like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid weren't exactly match winners to start with, nor did they know the art of finishing the game," Shoaib said.

Akhtar who played for Shah Rukh Khan co-owned Kolkata Knight Riders during IPL has accused the Bollywood superstar and former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi of "cheating."

"Shahrukh and I talked about my not being happy with the money settled on me. Shahrukh and Modi got me to agree. I should have never listened to Modi and Shahrukh," he said in the book.

Akhtar also spoke at length about politics in Pakistan Cricket Board. He didn't shy away from taking a dig at two former captains Wasim Akram and Shoaib Malik.

He didn't stop short of calling Malik a "stoodge of PCB chairman Naseem Ashraf" and that's why he was made the captain.

First year IIT-Kanpur student hangs self

A BTech (first year) student of material and metallurgical engineering of the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur (IIT-K) committed suicide on Thursday.

Mehtab Ahmed (17), who hailed from Kannauj district, was found hanging in his room No D-307 of hall No IX on the campus on Thursday evening.

After hearing the news, IIT-K director Sanjay Govind Dhande, other officials and students rushed to the Mehtab's room where he used to live alone.

"Born on 18 June 1994, Mehtab Ahmed (Roll No 11397) was a good student. Son of S-I Shaikh Ahmad, Mehtab had joined IIT-Kanpur on July 20 this year. At around 4.45 pm, when the friends knocked at the door and found that the room was locked from inside, they broke open the door only to discover Mehtab hanging from the ceiling fan," said Dhande.

Mehtab's batchmates said he showed no signs of any discomfort till last night and even in the morning and later in the afternoon and talked to them on various topics and issues.

When questioned about the reason which forced the youth to take such an extreme step, Dhande hinted towards Mehtab's relationship with a girl and gave some poems written by him to newspersons.

When further questioned about ragging being a cause, the director ruled out any such possibility.

It is important to mention that Mehtab had written "I am tired of IIT-Kanpur" on the wall of his room with a pencil. He also wrote names of his three childhood friends Shubham Shukla, Ravi Kashyap and Umesh Chauhan on the wall. Dhande said that those were Mehtab's friend staying outside the IIT-K campus.

Dhande also revealed that the student was homesick since he was new to IIT-K but added that he was frequenting his home place in Kannauj as few rail tickets were also recovered from Mehtab's room.

The director informed that Mehtab had appeared in four examinations out of five in the mid-semester, which ended on September 17. He further said that the result is yet to come out.

Dhande said that he could not appear in humanities subject owing to his mother's illness.

No suicide note was recovered and the police are investigating the reason why the student took the extreme step. The police have recovered a mobile phone from Mehtab's room.

After going through the call details, it was learnt that the boy had last spoken to his mother in Kannauj.

"A few hours before his death at around 1:27 in the afternoon Mehtab had made a call to his mother Zulekha Banu in Kannauj from his cell phone informing her that he had badly performed in his physics paper and the duration of the call lasted for nearly 9:40 minutes," investigating officer Jai Singh said while talking to TOI.

The boy seems to be depressed as his mother Zulekha had also visited him at his hostel on September 20, he said. The boy had used a very thin but a fresh and strong nylon rope to hang himself, he said.

"The boy had committed suicide between 2 and 4.30 pm. It would be too early to draw any conclusion and investigations are still underway," said another senior police official.

DIG Rajesh Rai said that the body will be only sent for post-mortem examination in the presence of victim's kin, who had arrived at IIT-K in the evening. The institute authorities did not allow newsperson to enter the hostel.

"There is no evidence to suggest that there was foul play in the incident. We are still investigating. It appears to be a case of suicide," another police official said.

Android: Oracle wants $1.16bn from Google

Oracle Corp estimated it suffered roughly $1.16 billion of damages from Google Inc's alleged copyright and patent infringement of Java technology used in the Android operating system.

In a court filing, Oracle said Google's claim that the damages sought exceeded $2.2 billion "mischaracterizes" a report by Oracle damages expert Iain Cockburn, a Boston University business professor.

The lowered damages estimate is one-fifth the maximum $6.1 billion that Oracle had earlier sought in the case.

Oracle had sued Google in August 2010, claiming that the Internet search company's Android system infringed Java patents that Oracle had acquired when it bought Sun Microsystems Inc seven months earlier. It also alleged copyright infringement.

The lawsuit is one of several among phone and software companies seeking a greater share of profits in the growing market for smartphones and tablets.

A trial is set to begin on October 31 before U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco. The judge had on July 22 rejected Oracle's request for up to $6.1 billion, but gave the company a chance to revise its claim.

In a letter to Alsup, Oracle lawyer Steven Holtzman said the revised damages estimate includes as much as $202 million for patent infringement, and as much as $960 million for copyright infringement.

He urged the judge to deny Google's request to exclude parts of Cockburn's report from the case.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Google is based in Mountain View, California, and Oracle in nearby Redwood City.

Shiv Sena against Anna Hazare's trip to Pakistan

Shiv Sena on Thursday voiced its strong opposition to social activist Anna Hazare's plans to visit Pakistan in connection with anti-corruption movement.

While speaking to a two-member delegation from Pakistan at his native village Ralegan Siddhi, Hazare had said he would like to go to Pakistan if "my visit is going to help the anti-corruption movement there".

"Anna should have told the delegation that they should tell Pakistan to stop terrorism," Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said here.

"Shiv Sena is of the opinion that no one should have any relations with Pakistan," Raut said.

The delegation, comprising Justice Nasir Aslam Jahid, a former judge of Pakistan's Supreme Court, and Karamat Ali, a well-known peace activist, had extended an invitation to Hazare to visit the neighbouring country.

The success of Hazare's anti-corruption movement had boosted the morale of the activists in Pakistan and people of Pakistan wanted Hazare to visit the country, Ali had said.

Saina sails to quarters of Japan Open, others disappoint

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal emerged as the lone survivor for India at the Japan Open, defeating Mingtian Fu of Singapore in straight games to reach the quarterfinals of the women's singles competition at Tokyo on Thursday.

Fourth seed Saina took 33 minutes to beat Mingtian 21-17, 21-16. She will take on Juan GU of Singapore on Friday.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist P Kashyap played his heart out before going down 15-21, 21-6, 18-21 to sixth seed Jin Chen in the men's singles match which lasted for one hour and six minutes.

Ajay Jayaram, who stunned World number seven Tien Minh Nguyen on Wednesday, also became a second round casualty after losing 20-22 16-21 to Indonesian Simon Santoso in a 42-minute battle.

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa also failed to get past seventh seeded Jung Eun Ha and Min Jung Kim in the women's doubles event. The Indian duo lost 9-21, 21-18, 22-24 to the Korean pair in 49 minutes.

The Indian mixed doubles pair of Jwala and V Diju also lost their second round battle 15-21, 10-21 against fifth seeded pair of Hung Ling Chen and Wen Hsing Cheng in just 24 minutes.

The 21-year-old Saina, however, kept India's tricolour fluttering at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

In the first game, Saina opened up a narrow 9-5 lead and though Mingtian caught up with her at 14-all, the Indian was able to hold her fort to get ahead.

In the second game, Mingtian dominated the initial proceedings and had her nose ahead at 6-4 but Saina drew parity at 13-all and then broke off at 15-15 with six straight points to seal her place in the quarterfinals.

Big B injured on film sets, fans send in recovery tweets

Actor Amitabh Bachchan was injured while shooting on the sets of Ram Gopal Varma's Department on Wednesday evening. No sooner than Bachchan Senior tweet about the accident, his fans flooded him with messages wishing him speedy recovery. Some even derided Varma for asking Big B to do an action sequence.

Bachchan tweeted: "A minor incident on the set during a semi-action sequence, got hit on rib cage, some damage inside, pain on breathing, bearable. Guess it's the season for injuries... first Abhishek, now moi... happens... will repair on its own said doc."

Bombarded with concerned messages, Bachchan tweeted: "People of Twitterworld, relax, should never have mentioned... just an accidental hit by either an elbow or the butt of a carbine."

Some fans prayed for his quick recovery, some asked him to take care and some even were angry with director Ramgopal Varma.

A fan tweeted: "RGV crazy to ask you to do a action sequence. Do not test your body, Amitabh Ji. Hope it heals soon."

Bachchan is said to be playing the role of a gangster-turned-politician role in Department.

Varma said, "I really didn't know about this till I read his tweets. He shot with me for over an hour after he hurt himself." He later tweeted to Big B: "O hell, Sarkar, and you never told me about this."